When a configuration command fails, the SNMP protocol sends an error code back to the user. Examples of a configuration command include setting the line speed on a peripheral. An error will occur if that peripheral can't support the line speed. However, SNMP only permits a limited number of error codes. Consequently, many times there is not enough information contained in the code for the operator to know exactly what's wrong. More specifically, in the Agent X standard (RFC 2741) the error status field of a response message is limited to a few AgentX-specific error codes (not applicable to the 7770 RCP architecture), plus the 18 SNMP error status values defined in RFC 1905. This means that the applications may only report one of the 18 error codes defined by SNMP. In the majority of error situations, more specific information about the error is known. However, when the standard SNMP protocol is used, this additional specific information can not be passed back to the user. Consequently, the human operator may be unable to determine exactly why the management operation failed. Thus, he will be unable to correct the error.